A Non Governmental Organization (NGO) the Partners for Peace (P4P), a project of the foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND) has organized a peace camp for Niger Delta communities in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State Capital.
The long week event is holding from 26th to 30th of August 2013, at the Adolescent Center, Eriebe in Obio/Akpor LGA. The event featured training sections for peace building, ICT and project management. In a press statement made available to journalists the Executive Director of the Foundation for Partnership Initiative in the Niger Delta (PIND) Mr. Sam Daibo said “conflict is a key constraint to sustainable economic development.
He posited that the absent of peace removes the stability in the environment that is necessary for the progress of any community. The event at the peace camp will have workshops, discussion section and knowledge sharing opportunities to create safe spaces in which exchange of ideas on peace building will achieved. According to the organizer of the programme, skills training during the camp will focus on using such modules for research facilitation, using the new media mapping and early warning signal as means for conflict resolution.
Speaking to journalists shortly after, the Project Manager for Partner for Peace (P4P) Mr. Collins Imoh stated that brining together the vast majority of stakeholders for peace at different levels of society will be key to fostering a deeper sense of ownership among community members. He said conflict robs communities in the Niger Delta of their livelihood and voice. Mr. Imoh stated that those who attended the training will use the wealth of experience to influence peace in their different communities. The Project Manager maintained that there will be evaluation at the end of the camp to access their level of understanding, where they will provide community based solutions to conflict that will help conflict-prone zones in the Niger Delta.
Chief Joshua Ugere from Delta State told media men that the camp will reduce conflict in the region but advised multi-nationals co-operations in the region to be very objective in their dealing with the people. He said “the peace camp will upgrade his capacity in peace building” while thanking the organizers. The resource person for ICT at the camp Mercy Abagasu stated that the use of ICT will provide a better option in peace building in the society especially the use of face book, email and other media chart that can prevent conflict while hoping that the training will provide unity for all in the country, she advised participants to take the message back to the grassroot.
Also speaking the strategic adviser for the group, and also Senior Associate for Partner for Peace stated that they are trying to develop consensus among the group, by providing skill training in ICT and project management and give everyone the opportunity to tell their story because it takes more than one sector to provide peace in the region, saying everyone is a stakeholder like the government, CSO, and companies to collaborate and come together.
“One of the key thing is that conflict affect livelihood, when there is conflict livelihood go down he said”. A participant Mr. Clement Dike from Abia State also collaborated with them, saying that he will use the training to bring about peace in his community while Ifeayi Okechukwu One of trainer said, the programme have been an interesting one, nothing that participants experience have help in achieving a lot.
By Pius Dukor
